Several years ago, a West Coast advertising agency was researching Porsche in preparation for pitching the Porsche Cars of North America account. Contacting Porsche Cars North America personnel was not permitted. Instead, five managers of Porsche dealerships were recommended as knowledgeable sources. I happened to be one of them and had already met with one of the potential agencies.
A woman from a West Coast agency contacted me to set up a meeting. Her preferred dates for our discussion were during the Porsche Road trip to West Texas. I apologized for not being available for those dates but suggested that she was welcome to join us. This would afford her the opportunity to not only interview me, but also to take advantage of the perfect focus group– Porsche owners. Arrangements were made for her and a photographer to join us in Houston and ride with us in our caravan out to Marathon, TX.
I sent her a copy of pre-trip recommendations. One of our events, hosted by Bridgestone Tires, was high speed lapping on their Ft. Stockton facility’s eight-mile oval. “Push your foot to the floor and hold it until the air in front of you overcomes the aerodynamics and horsepower of your Porsche’” A two-lane concrete bridge provided both access to the track and the perfect vantage point for a video camera. As the cars passed under the bridge, it looked and sounded as if they were shot out of a cannon. Finally, as terminal velocity was reached, the air off the Porsches literally lifted the bridge.
The instructions included tips for driving around Bridgestone’s eight-mile oval. One of the tips read, “Bras are useless at speeds over 150-miles-per hour.” This was intended to warn participants about the frontal covers (vinyl with felt backing) coming loose and flapping at extremely high speeds. These devices, now obsolete, were replaced by invisible bra paint protectors intended to prevent minor chips in the paint. Some enterprising guy, referring to front-end protection and not considering the possible misunderstandings, decided to call these devices a “bra…”
Wanting to be thorough, the advertising agent did her homework. She read every word of the instructions. Just prior to her departure she asked her husband what the logic was in her not wearing a bra at speeds over 150 mph. What could possibly happen that her under-garment would be rendered ineffective at those speeds?
“What the ‘bleep’? Where does it say that?”, her alarmed husband exclaimed. He looked at the instructions and began to laugh.
Luckily, he knew what an automobile bra was and explained the other definition of the word. When in doubt, ask the question, even if it seems a little silly. She told me this story as we headed west on I-10. I had a good laugh and another story about the joy of driving!